The dark one's apprentice
by Smash-Photographer
Summary: Collette's sacrifice for her daughter was an act of true love, giving her daughter the powers of true love. How would this have changed her adventure with Rumpelstiltskin?
1. Introduction

_Collette's sacrifice for her daughter was an act of true love, giving her daughter the powers of true love. How would this have changed her adventure with Rumpelstiltskin?_

_Sadly, according to my shrink I do not own "Once upon a time" (and I should stop calling him Archie)_

**Introduction**

Belle had returned to her chambers after finally convincing her father to call upon Rumpelstiltskin., but it had been a hard price to pay. At last she had given in to her father's wish for her to marry Gaston. Her mother had always insisted that the choice should be Belle's and not Maurice's and so she had been kept safe, but now, this had been the only leverage to convince her father to do this. The first sacrifice she had to make in order for her people to be safe.

She was shaking all over, remembering Anna's words. Whether it was a good idea or not, time would tell. It was in the solitude of her chambers that she suddenly noticed how fatigue hadn't taken over yet. She had gone through so much the past weeks, not having the time to pause or think properly about everything. Now that she was in the solitude of her room she should feel exhausted at the very least.

She sat down on the bed, abandoning her thoughts on the possible or not possible fatigue by brushing it off to a rush of adrenaline, summoned up by the possible arrival of the dark one to their castle and her impending marriage now to Gaston. It felt strange, she was a fiancée now, yet she hadn't seen her so called fiancée in weeks now. He was off somewhere, leading a mission in the war. It wasn't at all how she had imagined it would be. There had been no proposal from his side, no ring, no kiss, no tears of happiness,… Just a promise made to her father and the deal had been struck.

Remembering the story of her mother, a princess from a kingdom who was as stubborn as she was, marrying the son of a duke for no other reason than love, the sort off love you'd find in a book. Through her window she saw a distant star and she silently wished that her chance to find true love hadn't passed yet. That she would still find it.

As soon as Rumpelstiltskin had entered the throne room he was in shock. Right before him stood a girl, obviously in her early twenties, radiating with true love magic. She didn't receive it at birth, he knew that much, though Duke Maurice and princess Collette had loved each other very much, it hadn't been true love, and it wasn't developed that much. In fact, if he were to guess she had only just procured it, by the looks of it.

He had come to the palace, planning to demand a small artefact from the duke, it wasn't as if he were that fond of ogers to begin with, after all… it was how it all started. But when he saw her, he knew instantly that he wanted her. True love's magic was powerful when developed and he had every intention of learning her. It would be a huge task he figured as he saw her hiding behind the brute of a knight.

"My price… is her!"

That caused a stir…

"You can't take her. Please, she's all I have left."

"That's the reason, isn't? Magic always asks for a price. It would be rather… counterproductive, if it was something you could easily part with." He let out one of his stereotypical giggles after that. Enjoying how the man's face twisted in disgust and fear.

"The girl is engaged… to me."

"I wasn't asking if she were engaged. I'm not looking for looooove." He kept his mouth shut after that. He would never lie outright during a dealmaking. That would make a deal breakable. But he wasn't planning on telling the whole truth out loud.

"She's not going!" her father yelled, and who could blame him. If there was anything he respected it was a father holding on to their child. The ones that gave them away easily where the ones that disgusted him. Too bad, he really, really wanted this particular girl. One look at the girl told him his next course of action. She had a determined look in her eyes and wasn't agreeing with the men that tried to protect her.

"Well, then, I'm going."

He turned around quite dramatically and made sure that his steps were slow and precise.

"No! Wait!" And a smile crept on his face, the fish had caught the bait. "I will go with you."

"Belle! No!"

"Father, Gaston, it's been decided."

And indeed it had been. She left with him, and he couldn't wait to see just how powerful his new possession would turn out to be.

_Is it worth continuing to follow this little plot-bunny or not? Let me know! The introduction is short but the chapters will be a lot longer._


	2. Chapter 1: Lessons to start

**Thanks ****Bluerose160****, ****rihime-San**** and ****Jess Marylin**** for the lovely reviews. I enjoyed reading them.**

**I still do not own "Once upon a time".**

**Chapter 1: Lessons to start**

As they arrived at the gates Belle took in her surroundings. The castle where they had arrived looked grand and luxurious and in its old days it might've known a golden era of parties and balls but now it seemed cold and uninviting. Exactly as you would suspect the home of the dark one to look. She felt a lump in her throat when she realised that this place would now be her home as well. Or at least that's what she assumed. She still had no idea what he was planning to do to her but the warning that Anna had given her still rang through her mind and she feared that whatever he had planned, there was a pretty high chance that she wouldn't like it.

They entered the castle through large gates and an even larger hallway that seemed rather ominous in the darkness that surrounded the castle now. It had become late and she suddenly realised just how hungry she was. It would surprise her though if she would manage to hold any food she would eat down. After the hallway they entered a dining room and she expected that they would eat something but he just marched through, not showing any sign that this was their destination.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Let's call it… your room!"

They went up the stairs into one of the smaller towers and he opened the door to a room on the top floor of it. It wasn't anything she was used to, just a small cot with some straw, no blanket, no pillow and she suspected that there would be little light as well, judging by the small window.

"My room?"

"Well… it's better than a dungeon." And with that he closed the door behind her.

She couldn't really agree with him, this was a dungeon, just build in the air. She felt very much a prisoner here with no rights anymore, no way to live the way she wanted to live. She lowered herself to the ground and wondered what her mother would think if she would see her little girl now. The life her little girl had, for which she had sacrificed her own. At least the entire kingdom was saved now. Her mother had died so that she could find her way to Rumpelstiltskin and sacrifice her freedom for the lives of everyone in the kingdom. It was a small comfort to think of it in that way.

After a while of sitting there she noticed she was cold and hungry. At least the prisoners in her father's dungeons had blankets, pillows and food even if they didn't have much else. She lay down on the cot and hoped that sleep would overtake her and that she wouldn't feel anything anymore. But that didn't happen and when the door opened the very next morning, she felt miserable but still not tired. For some reason her condition brought a smile on Rumpelstiltskin's face. He was a sadist, she could've guessed that much.

Yet, she was wrong. The reason that Rumpelstiltskin had placed her in the tower for the night didn't have anything to do with sadism. He had read that people with her powers didn't need much sleep to function. Not as much as he didn't need it but still… this was just a test to see if it were true. So when he opened the door that morning and noticed that she was more uncomfortable by the cold and hunger than a lack of sleep he couldn't help but smile. It was true!

"Breakfast is served my lady!" He said, followed by an grand bow and one of his typical giggles. Belle didn't expect much of it and followed him downstairs to the dining room they passed in the day. Despite the fact that the son was already up the curtains were still closed, the only light coming from the fire place in the corner. But that wasn't what caught her attention. The breakfast was extravagant. Baskets with bread and fruits, meat pies, eggs, … it was all there.

"Is anyone else coming?" she asked, a bit bewildered by the amount.

"Oh no dearie, I just wasn't really sure what you liked. Now tuck in, we have a long day ahead of us, you're going to need your strength."

She was by now so confused that she had almost forgotten how hungry he was. What sort of man placed a girl in a cold cot at night and gives her this breakfast in the morning. If he was trying to make her see that she would never be sure what to expect from this man, he was doing a fine job.

"What do you expect me to do?" she asked after a while, when her thoughts were gathered.

"What do you mean?"

"You said, we had a busy day ahead."

"First things first dearie, eat your breakfast and then we're going to have a long talk you and I."

Belle complied and when she didn't take any more food he rose from his chair and indicated that she should follow him outside.

"Now dearie, first you're going to answer a little question. Did any significant acts of love happened in your life in the past few months?"

"I… I got engaged."

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, he had expected her to be smarter than that. She hadn't shed a tear for her fiancée nor was her goodbye to him yesterday, a goodbye between two loved ones who would probably never see each other again. Plus, he had never heard of an engagement starting of true love magic.

"No dearie, that's not it. Something else, something grander than that. Did anyone do something almost impossibly grand for you, just out of love?"

At that she looked at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. If there was anything he hated it was people who felt the need to become emotional in front of him. But at least he felt that the right answer was coming. To her credit, she did her best to hide her feelings and quickly recovered.

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because you now live in my home and I think I have a right to know the ones that are living under my roof."

"No, that's not it. You know something happened, you just don't know what."

"Then how about you tell me dearie. There can't be any harm."

Belle remained silent for a while and he felt that he was losing his patience again.

"My mother… she gave her life for me in the ogres war. She died so that I could escape."

Rumpelstiltskin just nodded and they continued their walk in silence for a while. Belle too hesitant to ask the question that was burning on her tongue. Suddenly they stopped and Rumpelstiltskin reached out his hand, letting a feather that lay a bit further fly to his hand. It wasn't the most impressive tricks of magic and Belle wondered if he was doing it out of boredom.

"You try it." He suddenly said to her, making her look up confused.

"I don't have any magic."

"Yes you do dearie… that's the whole point why I asked for you. I noticed it the moment I walked into that room. You have magic, and a very powerful kind, the one you only receive when someone performs an act of true love. Usually this one is only reserved for children born out of true love, but you dearie, you got it the second your mother made that sacrifice."

Belle shook her head and laughed. "I don't have any magic. You'd think I'd noticed something different if I had."

"Really dearie? Well tell me this… you didn't have one second of sleep last night, and yet you stand here as if you're well rested and ready to face the day. Was that something that always happened? Ever went a night without sleep and still feel this well rested?"

He gave her a smile, bearing all his teeth.

"But… that's forbidden. It's a sin! The clerics in my father's kingdom, they don't allow people using magic. In fact they almost excommunicated my father for summoning you if it weren't for the fact that it saved their hides as well."

This earned her a giggle from Rumpelstiltskin.

"Yes, that's your typical corrupt, religious order for you. All high and mighty about their rules until it serves them. Makes you wonder just how much of their rules truly are a sin, and just how much are made up to keep other people from getting too powerful and clever for their own power's sake. It doesn't stop people from being born with magic does it? Nor does it stop people from being born too clever. Because as much as you pretend to follow their rules now, I know that you think they're folly."

"More like a bunch of muttering idiots who kept telling my father that my mother and I should keep our nose out of books as it wasn't proper for a woman. They just couldn't get passed my father's love for us."

She suddenly realised that she found it easy to talk to this man, this supposed beast that walked beside her, that she felt at ease even when he had just gave her astounding news that would change her life.

"What are you planning to do with it? With my magic? You must have some plan for it if it was the reason why you chose me."

"I'm planning to train you dearie. To see just how powerful you can be."

"And then you'll make me do your bidding." She asked, despite the fact that he was so easy to talk to she hadn't forgotten Anna's warning yet.

"True love's power can rarely be used for evil," he explained "but it is a powerful magic nonetheless. So yes… there will be times when I might ask you some… favours."

"Won't you be scared that I might become too powerful for you."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed at that, "Dearie, you can become quite powerful, I've noticed that already. But you'll never become the better of me. You miss one sole ingredient for that, you're not ruthless nor evil and I don't think you'll be for quite some time. Now… shall we begin our lessons?"

She agreed though hesitantly, as much as he had said that she would be powerful, her first day wasn't a success. In fact there was no success whatsoever, the feather hadn't moved one inch and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. What if he were wrong? What if she wasn't who he thought she was? Would he send her home and bring back the ogers, claiming his side of the deal wasn't lived up to.

Rumpelstiltskin on the other hand wasn't discouraged. Even though there was no outward success he had felt it. He had felt the magic move inside her, responding to her attempts but not strong enough yet to manifest itself. But at the end of the day it had become weaker again and that was going to become a problem. She had started losing her faith in the fact that the magic was even there and the magic had responded to it accordingly. He needed to find a way to make her believe it. After all, it took time to strengthen it, it was like a muscle, part of your body but in need of training and use in order for it to become stronger.

Come here dearie, he had said and took her hand in his, to his surprise she didn't flinch when she felt his scales in her hand, nor moved back because he was suddenly so closed. She was rather a peculiar girl. He started focussing on her magic, trying to bring it out, forcing it to listen to him.

"I'm glowing!" she said, "I'm warm! But it's not a warm day."

"That my dear, is your magic. Light magic, warming your heart and everyone who touches it. It's there, you just need to bring it out. And you do that by practicing, constant practicing. The royal castle wasn't build in a day, dearie."

She nodded, "You've done this before haven't you? Training someone."

"I have had quite a few apprentices, most of them were quite the disappointment. I take it that this won't happen with you?"

She shook her head.

"I'll be gone in two days, I have to perform a few deals. You'll practice every day, even when I'm not around you keep practicing. Even when you are exhausted, hungry, bored with it, … you keep on practicing. I won't have it any other way. I'm a very hard master to please dearie. And I expect to be pleased by you."

Belle nodded but the distrust still wasn't quite gone. This man was the dark one, an evil sorcerer, he didn't take on apprentices with light magic just for the fun of it. He wanted something out of her, something he still wasn't ready to tell her. The truth was much more simple, he could always need an apprentice who could use the light magic that he couldn't. And besides, if she was claimed and trained by him, that meant the blue fairy wouldn't be able to claim her as her apprentice, and that in itself, was a small victory once again. She was a treasure and a prize to him. But Belle did have doubts whether or not she truly wanted her magic to become developed enough.

**Hope you liked this chapter. Let me know! **


	3. Chapter 2: A thief called Robin Hood

**Thanks ****Jewelzy****, **** .kanobi**** and the three guests who left me reviews! I loved reading them. **

**This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written, and it's not even that long compared to others.**

**Chapter Two**

Belle's training didn't progress the way he had hoped it would. She trained, that was a fact that he couldn't deny but still her magic didn't progress the way it should. Something was blocking her and he couldn't put his finger on it. They were at it for a month now and she was still where he expected her to be, within a week.

"Try it again dearie!" he said when once more she couldn't succeed letting a simple feather appear in her hand out of thin air. "Clear your mind, focus on the feather and only the feather!"

He was growing out of patience and rather tired of using the soft method with her. He was on much more common ground when he taught dark magic to Regina, at least that was something he was familiar with. He had no idea how to motivate someone to use light magic.

"Magic is power dearie, if you don't want power you'll never succeed."

"Well then I won't." she said calmly, though her frustration was evitable, "Because I'm not interested in power. It never served any good to anyone except the one who wields it and even then it's sometimes more a curse than a blessing."

"What do you know about wielding power if you've never wielded it, dearie? Think everything you read in a book is true?"

"I grew up as the daughter of a duke in service to king George, who has one of the most corrupt courts in this world. I know what power does to men. I've seen it with my own eyes every day, even my father with all his good intentions sometimes misuses it. "

He took a step closer to her, "Well for someone who thinks she is so clever, you have a hard time figuring things out here dearie. I could just as easily drop you off at your father's doorsteps, just in time to watch the ogres take your precious little provincial town and you won't be able to stop them, because you were too afraid to take power when you could. You'll be weak. Because that's the only sort of people you have dearie: the ones who take power, and the ones who are too weak to face them because they just didn't have what it takes to grab it."

She wasn't going to let him win this argument, he noticed, she was a stubborn little thing but still as naïve as the day she was born. Protected in her father's little castle.

"You don't have weakness alone. There's also courage!" she answered him, a determined look on her face.

"Courage is men going to their graves but without the screams. It doesn't help anyone's chances."

She became quiet after that but he could still see the wheels turning in her head. No doubt she still had an answer to that but she knew that this conversation could go on for a long time before either one of them would give in.

"Now! Are you going to stand there doing nothing and break the deal or are you going to show me that you're finally ready to listen to my instructions, dearie? I know a few ogres who are just as curious as I am about your answer."

She shot him a dangerously, angry look, "You're a monster!"

"So I've been told. But you are a monster's apprentice."

Belle turned around and focused on the object in front of her, she needed to concentrate but her anger was building up inside of her, closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the feather until suddenly she felt something fall in her hand. The feather had been burned black and ignited small sparks that shocked her, she quickly threw it on the ground.

"Perhaps we should stop today's lesson until you've calmed down a bit." Rumpelstiltskin mumbled.

"I thought you said that I wasn't supposed to stop my lessons for any reason?"

"Well, being on the verge of destroying my castle is perhaps the one reason that does count, I guess." And with that he send her off to her room.

Once there Belle dropped herself on her bed and started to let go of her tears and all the emotions that had builded up inside of her for the past few days. She desperately wanted to go home but she knew she never could. She was forced to stay here in this castle with a monster who trained her for nothing good, she was sure of that. But there was no choice for her, she had to do it, or he would send her back.

Meanwhile Rumpelstiltskin was left in the hall looking at the feather at his feet. She had destroyed it. Belle had destroyed the feather she had summoned. Light magic did not destroy things, it build things. He had been sure that her magic was true love's, one of the purest of the light. It turned out that his little apprentice had a lot more to her than he had originally thought. She was a mystery for him to unravel, and that's what he would do. Because Rumpelstiltskin was never wrong when it came to magic.

He had spent all night in his work room, going through several books on true love, but everywhere he looked it said the same thing that he already knew, true love did not have the power to destroy things, not even something as small and meaningless as a feather. Perhaps there was something in her lineage… but going through the heraldic books of her family and the families that had married into hers had proven nothing out of the ordinary. Each and every one of them had made respectable marriages, some might've married a bit higher or lower than their rank allowed but not one person jumped forward as being unordinary. Then of course, in a kingdom that followed the clerics as their primary religion, one wouldn't boast with magic in the family tree. He relaxed in his chair and tried to think further. He had to know more about her past, her own personal one and that of her family, there had to be an explanation there. He also had to find a way to motivate her into developing her full powers fast. He wanted to know just what she was capable of, and he had just the idea.

When Belle woke up the next day and went downstairs she found Rumpelstiltskin pretending as if nothing had happened yesterday. They were in his workroom and he was going through several ingredients for potions.

"Now, potions might not seem too tricky but their power depend on the capacity of the person who makes them. Someone with no powers would just make a disgusting concoction that no person in his right mind would drink. Someone as powerful as me however… well, they would make a disgusting concoction that people would pay heavy prizes for, in order to drink it. Now…"

Just as he was about to go further into the different ingredients a noise was heard from downstairs. This really wasn't part of Rumpelstiltskin's plan and so he hurried downstairs followed by Belle.

When they entered the large dining room Belle was alerted by a hooded man standing in the middle of the room, grabbing one of the objects. Whoever he was, he was clearly not invited.

"Are you sure you want to do this dearie?" her master asked as he walked towards him.

The man smiled at him, "Pretty sure."

He had a distinct Sherwood-accent and Belle felt a spark of sympathy for the man. Sherwood neighboured her own home after all.

"It can do nasty things to you if you don't know how to use it." She had no doubts about that. Outwardly calm but with a scared hearth she followed the conversation between the two men in front of her. She knew Rumpel, this wouldn't be a conversation for long. If there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he wasn't too fond of someone touching his treasured objects.

"Well then," the man said, "I'll stick to what I know then. You know what this arrow can do to you?"

"Has to hit me first." Rumpelstiltskin said, and he apparated away.

From then on, everything happened really fast and before Belle could catch her breath the arrow was stuck inside Rumpelstiltskin's chest and the man was taking off without paying the slightest bit of attention to her. She made an attempt to run to her master, when suddenly he pulled the arrow out of his chest as if nothing had happened.

"Don't you know? All magic comes with a prize! And in your case… that's me!"

The look on the stranger's face told Belle everything she was feeling as well. The man was scared, and she was scared for him. She hadn't seen any of his cruelty face-to-face, but she knew some of the stories and she wasn't so sure if she wanted to be in his place.

The screams were terrible, Rumpelstiltskin had told her to continue her practice but it just didn't work. As much as she tried she couldn't drown them out. Would there be a spell that could do that for her? Of course there would be, but she could barely do the basics as it was. The screaming stopped and she could hear him coming up the stairs.

"I'm gonna need another apron." He said, throwing the bloodied one on the table. "Make yourself useful for once will you." His voice sounded tired, as if he didn't want to torture him. But that would be nonsense since nobody forced him to do it.

"Your other ones are on the line." She said, "It's going to take some time."

"Fine, fine, fine, clean this one as well, I'll be back later." Where HAD his impish voice gone to?

His tired state made Belle feel brave. "All this, because he tried to steal a magic wand?"

"No! Because he tried to steal from me! The dark one!" THERE was the impish voice again, "You try that, you get skinned alive. Everyone knows that!"

"Actually? No, they don't. I've heard many stories about you. People call you a deceiver at worst, but never a murderer!"

"Well they will after they discover the body!" he said, sounding awfully gleefully, monstrously so.

Her mind was made up quickly, and in 5 minutes time, she had gone down to the dungeon, gave him some water and removed the ropes that tied him up.

"I'm afraid he'll turn his wrath on you now."

"He won't, I don't know why but I have a feeling that I'm just as valuable to him as any other object that's here. The difference being, that I can run around."

"If you can run around, you can run away with me."

It was tempting, really tempting to go. But she knew that he would find her and that her family wouldn't survive.

As soon as the thief had gone, she settle herself down in the dining room with one of the books on magic that Rumple had given her. She remained there when Rumple had returned, getting himself ready for another round of torture. To say that he was angry when he discovered her betrayal was putting things mildly.

"You think because you have some sort of light magic that you need to play the heroine? Think you're some meddling fairy all of a sudden? Someone who needs to take a stand against the darkness?"

The book on her lap vanished into thin air.

"Perhaps it's wrong to teach you magic. Perhaps, I should put you to use as my estate's caretaker? How would you like that, dearie? Maybe that'll teach you some modesty, because there is no power inside of you yet!"

"I didn't free him because I wanted to show off my "light side" as you want to call it. I freed him because I saw good in him. He only wanted to get away with his life."

But that was not what he wanted and Rumpelstiltskin was all too glad to show it to her. The wand was gone. She had been tricked.

"He stole the wand because he wanted magic! People who want magic, never have good intentions! All they want is power, just like I told you!"

"No! You can't know that! You can't know what's in a person's heart until you truly know them." she said. She truly didn't want to show him that she was wrong. She wasn't, something inside of her told her so, again and again.

"Oh, we'll see what's in his heart alright. When I shoot an arrow straight through it! And because I am a showman, it'll be with his bow! And because this is your fault, you can come with me and watch!"

And with that he furiously left, leaving no doubt that she should follow him.

The carriage ride took long and they both remained silent for a long while as well. Until he suddenly spoke up.

"Is there some kind of family legend, that you wouldn't find in your heraldry books? Something the clerics aren't supposed to know?"

She gave him a questioning look, they were on their way to kill a man that she believe to be harmless and he thought she would just sit by and talk about her family? She chose not to answer his question.

"Acting like a stubborn child won't help the man dearie."

"I don't think answering your questions will help him either." She said. "But alright, if you really want to know. Every family hides things from the clerics. Nobody truly lives by their rules. But further than a drinking uncle I can't recall anything worth your while. Does that satisfy you?"

It didn't, not by far. He was still intrigued by the girl in front of him, no matter how infuriated he was with her. He wanted to understand her magic. She remained silent after that again and so did he. Until he realised that they were losing track of him. Her suggestion that he should turn back sounded as ridiculous as it truly was to him. Her idea that he was not as dark as he wanted people to believe even more so. At least that's what he told himself.

"You're right… there is something I love." He said, offering her to come closer. "My things!"

"You really are as dark as people say you are!", the disgust was obvious on her face, and he denied the small stab that he felt.

"Darker dearie, much darker."

The carriage stopped and he got out. Belle remained seated for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. Suddenly understanding why the clerics forbid magic if this is what became of people who used it. Realisation hit her that she used it as well now, and her reluctance to train, grew even more.

"I'll tell you where you can find your thief." The man who talked to Rumpel said, "If you give me a night with your wench." He said gesturing to her.

"She's not for sale."

"You can't part with her for say, an hour? 30 minutes?"

"Let me think!" he said, and no sooner he had said it or the man's tongue was in his hand. She couldn't feel sorry for him after his proposition. The man agreed quickly and just as soon they were of, back chasing the thief. She tried convincing him to do otherwise but it didn't work.

When at last they found him, they realised why he stole it, to save the woman he loved from some dreadful illness, but he still couldn't be moved and neither could she because suddenly she was halfway buried in the sand.

She tried to free herself, even tried to use her magic but to no avail.

"You don't have to do this! There is good in you! I was right about the thief and I was right about you! Look, she's pregnant! You are not the kind of man to leave a child fatherless."

The arrow flew across the sky and for a second Belle thought it was the end, but the arrow that would never miss, missed.

"What happened?" she asked, as if it wasn't obvious already. She wanted to hear him say it.

"I missed. Get back to the carriage dearie, I'm tired of this forest."

"You're not going after him?"

"He's not worth the effort."

Belle saw the reminiscent smile on his lips.

"You saved his life." She said.

"I did no such thing."

He could deny it all he wanted, he had spared the man. Belle threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"I think I do want to learn magic."

He hadn't even recovered from the shock of her hug and here she astonished him again. Luckily, she didn't wait for him to question her further.

"Magic is power, but to save someone's life, to help people, that's power as well. That's the kind of power that I want."

And with that she turned around and left. Rumple had many apprentices, but none were as much trouble as this one. Not even Zelena, and that was saying something. But he had a feeling that with her, no matter how much trouble she would be, he would never truly mind it.

There was only still the little matter of her magic not being as light as it first appeared. That might still be the main problem.

**I know there's a lot of repetition here from the episode but I did try to change it just a bit to their new situation. Next chapters that I have planned won't have this problem and will be focused solely on the main storyline. I just always found this story so genius, it's how they became closer and I think It can't be missed.**

**Let me know what you think of it! Truly, I appreciate that a lot!**


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